$13 million private grant to combat loose dogs in southern Dallas

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

The City of Dallas’ efforts to curb our loose dog problem just received a $13-million boost.

Grants were announced totaling $13.45 million from the Rees-Jones Foundation ($10 million), the W.W. Caruth Jr. Foundation at the Communities Foundation of Texas ($3 million) and the Dallas Foundation ($450,000), which will go toward spay/neuter efforts, education and awareness in southern Dallas.

Based on recommendations from a consulting group the city hired last year, the millions will pay for 46,000 surgeries per year over the next three years. The money also will pay for a mobile surgery unit, expanding existing clinics and providing pick-up and drop-off transportation for pets that need spay/neuter surgery.

From the Dallas Foundation’s announcement:

An estimated 8,700 loose dogs roam through southern Dallas – compared to virtually no loose dogs in North Dallas – and incidents of dog bites in southern Dallas have increased 15 percent annually since 2013.

Only about 15 percent of dogs in southern Dallas are fixed, compared to about 80 percent north of the Trinity River.

The initiative also will offer free vaccinations and pet wellness exams, as well as spay/neuter surgeries for pet cats.

1 Comment

This is the best news I’ve heard regarding the homeless dogs in Dallas. For years, these poor dogs have been neglected, abused, abandoned and then rounded up and euthanized.

THANK YOU to the three foundations that collectively donated $13million to help resolve the issues that created the problem– Rees-Jones Foundation ($10 million), the D.W. Caruth Jr. Foundation and the Communities Foundation of Texas ($3 million) and the Dallas Foundation!!! Finally, Dallas will be able to take preemptive actions to lessen the threat of family dogs ending up on the streets. This is a much better alternative than fighting to reduce a massive homeless dog population already on the streets.

I hope the person(s) who wrote the grants included language that holds the city accountable for how and what the funds are used for, in addition to having specific measurable goals that are reviewed by the grant writers on a regular basis.

Once these practices are put in place, the rescues may finally be able to catch their breath because for years, no matter how many dogs they have pulled off the streets and out of the shelters, it’s never been enough. For the volunteers, it’s a rewarding effort…but, it’s also disheartening and relentless. They take in every dog possible, almost always overextending the volunteers and the funds of the rescue. Yet they still have to watch day after day as countless dogs, through no fault of their own are euthanized.

Hopefully, the grants will help relieve the constant pressure the rescues have been under. The pace they feel obligated to maintain for these dogs overwhelms most people after a month or two. The rescue leaders and volunteers are amazing people (known as guardian angels in dog heaven). They are selfless, dedicated and caring people. They open their homes to thousands of mistreated and forgotten dogs each year because what so many see as a problem, they see for what it truly is, a victim.